When Walls Attack

(via Boing Boing)

Yes...

...it is hot enough for me.

Searches

I of course haven't check the stats for this blog for eons. I just did. Still an odd amount of traffic.

I am happy to say that the top key world search during 2008 has been "push button receive bacon."

Lessons of Oklahoma!

• It may seem like everything is going you way, but it's not.
• If you say you have a surrey with a fringe on top, you better damn well have a surrey with a fringe on top.
• Pornography is bad. Sometimes it could even kill you.
• Persians are sneaky, deceitful, and randy. But still okay.
• When confronting an arch-rival, why not try to convince him to commit suicide. You never know. It might work.
• Wolverine dances real pretty.
• If you are trying to make a not-so-tough choice and you inhale a special elixir, don't expect to get a real clear answer.
• In fact, it will probably put you to sleep out in a corn field. You will enter a horrible dream scape filled with prophetic images.
• Best not to trust anything branded as an elixir.
• To win the girl, sell everything you own at discount prices. Use the money to eat her pie.
• If your arch-rival tells to stick something in you eye, don't.
• To kill a farmer, you must become a farmer.
• Sure, cowmen and farmers can be friends. Especially when covering you murder.
• Oklahoma became a state due to enthusiastic spelling.

Why DOES that damn caged bird sing?

I am scared of singing.

It's true. I enjoy it. I enjoy it a lot. I do it constant around the house... when I'm alone. But in public? Big fear. I am not confident with my voice. I often suddenly find my self unable to pronounce even the simplest words. Any time I try to hum a popular song to someone it comes out as random discordant notes, like John Cage on lithium. In fact the whole Scott family is a bit infamous for not singing. Yes, I do not enjoy karaoke.

But I do like musical theater. It allows you to break so many of the conventions of "normal" theater. You can go from dead serious to wild camp in seconds. Emotions can be heightened way out of proportion. Slipping into an internal monologue is not only okay but expected. Music gets straight to musical core of things. You can gloss over subtlety. A character loves someone more that they love there own life? They can say that. They can say that over and over if it is in the chorus. And it isn't overblown or silly. It's frackin' moving.

So a while back I started to take a musical improv class with Eliza Skinner (of I Eat Pandas and many other swell things) at UCB. I was pretty sure I'd suck at it. I wasn't even sure I'd like it. Turns out I do like it. Enough that, when asked, I joined a musical improv team.

I had my first show with them last night. And it was magical. Audience get very excited by songs... especially improv ones. And as a performer, you get swept up in the song and your brain shuts down, and you just react in the moment.

I don't know how good I am. I am pretty good with structure. I commit to moments well. My actually singing goes all over the map. The notes I hear in my head rarely come out of my mouth. But that seems some what secondary. And it help that my team, Veal, rocks out on support.

Thing is, I totally burnt out on improv recently. I forgot the fun. I took a few weeks off, gave it a lot of thought, tried to put it all in perspective. Coming back, even after that short break, seems to have made me stop sweating the small stuff.

Yeah, that little bit was pretty cliché. But if I sang it....

The worth of things

I recently receive the following email:

Dear owner of twangofthevoid.blogspot.com,

I noticed that your blog "twangofthevoid.blogspot.com" hasn't been updated for a while. I'd like to buy this blog.

I assume that you are not interested in running it anymore.

I can buy this blog for $150.

What do you think?

I suppose $150 is quite a bit for something I never use any more. Except that it is a bit like selling off my memories. Sure, I could just archive it all... but it's not the same. This blog (like many many other) is a bit me yelling, "Hey world! Look at my brain!" And until I give my body up to science this will have to do.

And I might have more things to say now. So who knows? In a year it might be worth $175.

Reboot

Anyone there? I think I have thinks to say/share/exploit again.
Stay tuned...

I like my friends.

I had my belated birthday party last night at mi casa. A shared party with JRW and LRL, so there was a nice diverse group of folks. I, personally, had a great time and I sure damn hope everyone else did.

I have to say on the the best things was waking up hungover to discover that certain fantastic folks had cleaned up for you. YAY!

Thanks again to all who came last night. I haven't had a birthday party in seven years and this one was awesome.

It's not easy being green or Trent Reznor.

NSFW if you are a Muppet.

Thank you! Come again!

Eleven 7-Eleven's across the country are (or might) be made into Kwik-E-Marts in a cross promotion of the upcoming Simpson's movie. Cute idea. I might even be tempted to by a squishee, especially if I can get all all syrup one. Or a chuntney squishee

But the wisdom of this promotion seem dubious. One of Kwik-E-Marts key factors is its wild over pricing. But, hey, I give them props for having a sense of humor.

(via Boing Boing)

Beyond Improdome

Teammate JR was going to the PIT last night to do Beyond Improdome. It's an open mic, 3-person improv competition thing. Only 7-ish minutes, audience votes by ballots at the end. I said, "Sure! I'll come." Just the two of us so has we walked up to stage a random third person (Cole) stepped up to join in.

And we just attacked it. Played very aggressive, fast edits, being physical, looping back, making connections.

Seemed to work. We won. Apparently a blowout. Woot.

(We won't have a picture up on the MySpace page because they didn't have a camera.)

What does Justin have in that box?

So I'm watchin' some tv and see an ad with Justin Timberlake. He is hosting this year's Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards. As soon as the ad comes one I think to myself, "Oh, I bet he won't be doing Dick in a Box on Nick." The ad continues to play, exhorting Justin's numerous skills... one of which is "gift wrapping." And there is a shot of him holding out a gift wrapped box.

Insert "SpongeBob wardrobe malfunction" joke here.

In other random tv related notes:
-LOST has finally kicked into high gear this season. Now there is a magic box that allows you to conjure whole people... that you can then torture.
-Battlestar Galactica's season 3 ended last night and it was a doozy. No new episodes until 2008, but we get a tv movie so that's something.
-The This American Life show has started on Showtime... but I don't have Showtime... BUT the first episode is streamin' on the web here (for a limited time)... AND I now have an inside conection to TAL, so I'm gonna get hooked up.
-Joss Wheadon is writing the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer comicbook which is being called "Season 8." The first issue was great, like coming home.

Dr. Shrinker

I have spent a large portion of my life trying to convince people that this show ever existed.

YouTube: Proofing SixSider isn't crazy since 2006.

Band Madness!

I'm a bit late on this but whatever.

Band Madness!

If you couldn't give a crap about basketball and love music, head on over. Or if you just like music. Or whatever reason you want. The ultimate music bracket ever. Work it.

More palindrome goodness - in Polish

Może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom.

"Maybe tomorrow this lady will give cake to the hedgehogs."

solutomaattimittaamotulos

A Finnish word meaning "the result from a measurement laboratory for tomatoes." Notice it is a palindrome.

Barbara Boxer: "You don't make the rules anymore"

I heart Senator Barbara Boxer. Watch the video.

Link.

Weird Animal of the Week

Glaucus atlanticus.

"Oh, fire... That... that's not for white people."

Kasper Hauser has a wonderfully dead on This American Life parody.

Will 2008 be fought on YouTube?

YouTube didn't even become public until May 2005. It didn't officially launch until six months later. I am not saying that YouTube is a real source of political change, but it is hard to ignore its impact on the distribution of ideas.

Most of it is fluff and ignorable. But the fact video editing is now simple and easy and cheap, and the fact that you can now deliver it to the world almost instantly, has changed things.

The amount of attention being given to the pro-Obama/anti-Clinton Apple "1984" ad mashup is pointing towards something.

This was posted two weeks ago. There are numerous video responses to it. It is being covered by much of the mainstream press. Obama's people have even made a statement about it.

This "ad" isn't by any official campaign. Who really knows who is responsible. If can be made for practically nothing. And these "ads" can say anything they want. As the campaign moves forward we will be awash in these things... and many will get very ugly. Sure, a lot will be creative and witty and even intelligent. But we are going to get a lot of what we once referred to as "attack ads"... except that there will be no limit on what will be said in them.

And many will be ignored. But certain once will be mentioned in the press. Some will be mentioned because they are just good. Others because they are extreme. Blogs will cover them and then the media will cover the fact that blogs are covering them. People will see them and talk about them and campaigns will have to think about whether or not to give a response.

Sure, in 2004, the Internet was around. Sure, there were bloggers who could say whatever they wanted. But, let's be honest. People, in general, don't like reading all that much. But they like videos. We complain and complain about how television has changed how national campaigns are run. About how tv plays too big a roll. How campaigns are now geared towards sound bites and images.

Well, this time around that may, in some part, be taken out of the campaigns hands. For better or worse, it is going to be in the hands of the people.

(Small note: blogger.com's spellchecker doesn't know "bloggers.")